Have a “Can-Do” Attitude? You May Have Dad to Thank For It

Grit, determination, a “stick-to-it” state of mind: all qualities that help kids handle difficult situations, from test-taking, to athletic competition, to larger life challenges.

Now, new research argues that persistence in kids can be traced back to…Dad.

A study out of Brigham Young University’s School of Family Life followed 325 families and found that fathers in two-parent households helped to promote self-regulation in kids. “Fathers appear to help foster kids’ ability to meet difficulties in life and carry on,” said Laura Padilla-Walker, a lead researcher on the study.

Meanwhile, “moms are really important for hope and gratitude, helping others,” she explained. Fathers, she said, “are particularly protective against things like delinquency and depression. They seem to help protect against negative things.”

About 52% of the dads in the study exhibited above-average levels of so-called authoritative parenting — a method of fathering based on “structure and rules in a loving, warm context” — that helps foster persistence. Over time, their kids were significantly more likely to develop persistence, which lead to better outcomes in school and lower levels of delinquency.

“You don’t get kids to not be delinquent by being a scary, overlord figure,” Professor Padilla-Walker said. “It’s more about having structure and rules in the context of a loving, warm father.”

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